Advantages

"Easy to make"

"Great Tasting"

Disadvantages

Great taste, great results if you follow the plan.

I have recently decided to lose a little bit of weight in preparation for becoming a daddy again in December. I've looked at all kinds of methods to lose weight and every time I came back to SlimFast, having tried it before on the odd occasion a few years back.

SlimFast seems to be working for me so far, helping aid my weight loss and definitely keeping me feeling fuller for longer, and it is so easy to make it doesn't really take any time out of my day which is another plus point.

When making the shake, I find it best to follow the suggestions of using skimmed milk and I also use a shaker to ensure that there are no powdery bits left when it comes to consuming the drink, and so far it's worked perfectly every time.

I have now purchased four flavours - chocolate, vanilla, banana, and strawberry. Personally for me, the vanilla one is my second favourite as it tastes quite 'natural' and is easy to take down. It is definitely best to drink this with cold milk as it makes the shake thicker.

Great taste, great results if you follow the plan.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Slimfast

I approached Slim Fast with a great degree of scepticism but its been around for a long time now and lots of people use it, one assumes with some degree of success as it doesn't appear to be just another fad.

Each of the three tins supplied contains enough for 12 servings, or 6 days if your having two shakes a day. I would recommend getting two flavours, the Chocolate is thick and delicious and feels very naughty which does help as you don't feel as your depriving yourself but this Strawberry is just lovely as is.

As I say the shakes are thick, I bought a shaker mixer from Amazon and just rinse it out when done.

It does require cold milk, otherwise they are not so thick, also you need skimmed milk. To get the most flavour I would recommend UHT as I find UHT skimmed milk has the same flavour as semi-skimmed milk, the UHT process intensifies the flavour, plus it keeps for an age and can be transported without refrigeration before opening, so you can take a pack or two to work maybe?

The one thing I have been surprised about is I thought I would be craving food 5 minutes after having the shake but I have not found that at all which amazes me, my stomach hasn't rumbled once but I am definately eating less calories.

The Slim Fast snacks are great and its so nice to be able to have the odd crispy snack such as their pretzels and sweet thing like their caramel bars. Sadly as I write this Amazon fails on this as they only supply a couple of these snacks and they are over twice the price that they are in the supermarket, shame we cannot buy whole boxes and save some cash, lets hope that changes.

You can have up to three snacks a day.

Do have a balanced meal in the evening but do watch the calories, they recommend 600, but would suggest a very little bit more maybe 700/800 when getting started and reduce it down to 600 over a week or two, so its not a shock to the system.

Its early days but we will see if it brings results, pleasantly surprised so far.

Comments

Advantages

"Good price"

"Widely available"

"Easy to use"

Disadvantages

None

A nice and simple way diet to follow

The tin looks a little smaller than a tin of formula milk, it is mainly red in colour with a splash of vanilla milkshake to indicate the flavour. The lid is also red and has a rubbery feel to it, underneath this is a silver ring top lid which is easily removed to reveal the powder. The powder is quite fine, but does have some larger speckled grains inside and has a nice vanilla aroma. Inside the tin is a small clear plastic scoop when enables me to measure how much powder I am using.

To make the shakes, you simply add two level scoops of the powder to 250ml of skimmed milk, whisk and then its ready to drink. I actually use a Biggest Loser shake bottle to make mine up in so I just add the milk and powder to this, give it a shake for around 20 seconds and then its ready. I find this method a lot less effort, less time consuming and also makes the drink froth up really nicely to make it taste really thick. According to Slimfast, each shake contains 217 calories when made up using skimmed milk (which is recommended), which is designed to give me one third of my daily intake. I actually use just under two scoops (only slightly) as I find the shakes are too rich if using the recommended amount.

The SlimFast plan is really easy to follow; you simply have a shake for breakfast and lunch, followed by a healthy evening meal of less than 600 calories. Throughout the day, you can also have 2 healthy snacks (such as fruit) or SlimFast do offer their own range of bars, crisps etc which you can eat instead, I tend to have fruit as I do find SlimFast snacks are a little on the pricey side.

Surprisingly, the shakes do actually fill me up and having one for breakfast and lunch keeps me going until my evening meal. More importantly, they are actually quite nice, there is no doubting that it is vanilla flavour, they taste just like a shop brought milkshake, if not even nicer. Unlike other diets I have followed in the past, I find this one is quite good on the purse too, because a tin lasts me around a week, although I have to factor in the cost of milk, each meal costs me around 50p each which I think is excellent.

The main thing I would say about this is that if you stick to it, it works and I find the simplicity easy to follow which is why I really like it.

Comments

Advantages

"Cheap "

"Delicious "

"Tates like ice cream"

Disadvantages

"Too much sugar!!!"

Tastes just like Ice Cream!

As mentioned in my previous review of the chocolate version, I bought this Slimfast product at £2.95 in Superdrug. I was uncertain on whether this would work but surprisingly this product does work if you stick to Slimfast plan.

The shake itself is easy to make by adding 250ml of skimmed milk and 2 scoops of the vanilla powder. The scoop itself is included in the tin as a bonus! You can also add ice to make it cooler. You can also mix it in a blender to make sure it’s perfectly mixed with no lumps!

After mixing, the finished product looks like melted vanilla ice cream. The tin itself contains 12 servings just like the chocolate version so can last up to 12 days depending on what your 2 meals are. As stated previously, I had 1 of each flavour so this lasted 12 days!
The vanilla shake was creamy and delicious. It actually tastes like ice cream! It does taste very nice and personally, even though I am a chocoholic, somehow, I prefer the vanilla shake as it doesn’t have a weird aftertaste. The shake is filling so you won’t be left with your stomach rumbling during the day! However, I advise you to drink it very slowly to make sure it fills you up. Like the chocolate flavour, Slimfast have fortified the vanilla shake with all the essential vitamins you need.

However, the vanilla shake has a very high sugar content as in one shake contains 31g of sugar which is shocking and maybe that is why the vanilla shake taste like ice cream!

Also, as stated in my previous review, Slimfast does work, as I have lost weight and if you stick to the plan, you should lose weight too!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

quick and easy

I'm not the best at dieting - Lack of willpower, lack of desire for 'healthy' food, lack of time (and full of excuses!). So, for a diet to work for me it needs to be quick and easy and, preferably, give visible results quickly too. I have tried the slim-fast plan previously (using the strawberry shakes) and found it easy to follow and effective so I decided to try it again when I wanted to lose a few pounds. This time round, I opted for the vanilla shakes as that is my favourite milkshake flavour normally so I felt the plan would be easier to follow with a flavour I enjoy.

The can of vanilla shake contains 12 servings and costs around £5. It is frequently available on a price promotion though so it is well worth looking out for, For those unfamiliar with the concept of the Slim Fast plan and the shakes it is 'one for breakfast, one for lunch and a proper meal in the evening'. Obviously the 'proper' meal needs to be fairly healthy but the shakes act as meal replacements at the other two meal times. You can combine with snacks from the Slim Fast range too. The shake comes in a powder form in the metal tub. This has a plastic lid that can be removed to see the light yellow powder (in the consistency of talc). It is very much like a tub of baby formula! Inside the tin, you are provided with a plastic scoop to measure the required amount of powder to make up a shake. You simply combine this with skimmed milk and mix. It does take quite a lot of mixing to ensure that all of the powder dissolves and you are not left with a grainy bottom of the drink. Each drink contains essential vitamins and minerals and 230 calories.

The drinks are quick and easy to make up and are surprisingly drinkable. Not quite as flavoursome as a regular vanilla milkshake but it is still quite creamy tasting and, actually, rather pleasant. It smells really nice too (probably better than it tastes!) and looks appetising. It is not a chore to drink by any means and I definitely found it preferable to the strawberry version. As for being a meal replacement, this was tough at first but I soon acclimatised to it and, after a couple of days, I did find the drink to be satisfying and to 'keep me going'. This means that it was pretty effective as a diet plan as I wasn't hungry - particularly when combining with snacks - and it was so easy to follow. This meant that within a couple weeks of doing the plan, I had managed to shift those excess pounds - and it wasn't too much like hard work. The only problem being that Vanilla can get rather boring! Definitely recommended as a diet plan.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A tasty product to help with your cravings and weight control

Very nice when you prepare it properly. I mix a little bit more than it tells you to and it becomes really thick and creamy just like a regular milkshake. Another thing I do is mix it with the other flavours like the chocolate or strawberry. This makes them even more tasty. As for the weight loss side of things the Slimfast plan does work but only if you stick to a low calorie diet and do a bit of exercise. In my experience I usually have the milkshakes just once a day otherwise you can get bored of them really quickly and also too much milk does leave you feeling bloated. I would usually have one in the evening time after my dinner to replace desert. A good thing about the milkshakes is that they do satisfy you and take away sweet cravings if you have a sweet tooth like me ;-)

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A great slimming shake

Preparing this product is easy. Simply add some powder to a glass, add some skimmed milk and whisk until smooth. You may need to whisk the product a few times to stop any lumps from forming. The shake is then ready to drink. You can either drink it straight away or transfer it into a drinking bottle for consuming on the go. The taste is really nice. It tastes of vanilla but it tastes of natural vanilla, not artificial or synthetic vanilla. It tastes really sweet and smooth and it's easy to drink too. It also leaves a pleasant aftertaste in your mouth after drinking.

The shake manages to fill me up and it keeps me going throughout the day. It also gives me a boost of energy too and it provides me with all the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that I would find in an actual meal. Each shake is around 220 calories, which isn't too bad. They are also low in fat and sugar. The shakes are good for you as well as being good for your waistline. The Slim Fast shake diet is easy to follow and as the shakes are quite filling you don't feel hungry. The shakes also go down well, they don't leave you feeling bloated or anything. I would recommend them.

A great tasting vanilla shake to help you lose weight, great!

*** Each tub is around £4 to buy.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Cannot recommend.

Previously to my current healthy eating plan, I followed the Slim Fast Plan for 3 weeks in order to try to shift some pounds. My initial plan was to follow the Slim Fast plan for several months, but having followed it for three weeks I was driven to the conclusion that this really wasn't something that I wanted to pursue for any longer. During this time I tried several flavours, including strawberry, chocolate and vanilla - and I concluded that the strawberry flavour was the only one that I really enjoyed.

The Slimfast French Vanilla Milkshake Powder is one of the Slim Fast range and is one of the most readily accessible flavours that is available - and it can be bought in most chemists and supermarkets. It comes in a tin with the Slim Fast logo and has the vanilla flavour clearly labelled on the front. There are instructions on the back of the tin that tell you about the Slim Fast plan and also tell you how to make up the shake, as well as giving you the basic nutritional content per shake. When you first get the powder, the there is a ring pull foil cover that covers the powder and keeps it sealed prior to it's first use - and then their is a plastic lid which keeps the powder covered after this.

The Slimfast French Vanilla Milkshake Powder costs £5.99 from Boots - which I don't feel is a bad price considering you get 12 servings from this tin. This means that each shake costs 50p. It is supposed to be made up with skimmed milk. Basically to make it up you simply add two scoops of the powder to the skimmed milk and mix together. I found that the residual lumps in the vanilla shake were not as bad as in the strawberry shake and so this was something in it's favour.

Once made up, the milk shake smells very much like vanilla ice cream but actually stronger. It smells very sweet and also quite sickly. I have to say that this smell is also very much mirrored in the taste also. I actually like sweet things, but this was even too sweet for me! It also tasted pretty synthetic and with a strong aftertaste of sacharrin. Although I really like vanilla, I was actually quite surprised by how much I really didn't like this flavour. I did find that it was improved by the adding of ice to make the shake cooler.....maybe because it made it resemble ice cream more. I did actually find it quite nice to mix the vanilla and the strawberry together (1:1) as these flavours seemed to compliment each other.

I have to say though that I did discontinue using Slim Fast after three weeks because it left me hungry and dissatisfied. Although I did initially loose weight, I did put most of this weight back on again within a few weeks of stopping - and so I really don't think it is a very satisfactory diet plan!

I cannot recommend Slimfast French Vanilla Milkshake Powder as I don't like the taste and also I think the diet plan is flawed.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A great product

==Slimfast French Vanilla Tub of 12 servings==

Seeing as summer feels like it is well and truly on the way for the last month or so I have been trying to shift those few pounds that I need to make myself feel a little bit more comfortable about getting into my bikini on the beach this year. I have taken up running and am also trying out the Slimfast diet. I had started off buying Optislim which is a shake similar to the Slimfast and it was on a special offer in the pharmacy next to where I work. However per sachet these were £1.79p which works out a lot more expensive than Slimfast so with this in mind I went and purchased a whole load of the Slimfast products.

I have to say that over the course of the last 5 weeks or so I have shed an amazing amount of weight and I am really pleased with myself and the way that these shakes have worked for me. The French Vanilla was the favour which I tried first as I was thinking it would be the most likeable flavour. There are plenty of different flavours to choose from and after realising how well they were working and how much I needed a change of flavour I have since gone out and bought the whole selection.

However the French Vanilla seems to be the most widely available and you can buy it in most supermarkets and chemists. The other flavours are not so readily available as I guess the stores work on the same assumption that I did in that the Vanilla one is the one most people would find okay flavour wise.

A tub of the Slimfast will set you back £5 in Tesco where as in Boots the same tub sells for more at £5.99p. This works out far cheaper than buying the ready to drink bottles which sell for around £1.30p in Tesco and £1.60p in Boots. The fact that you get 12 servings in a tub makes this the best option I feel although you do have to take into account that fact that Skimmed milk will need to be purchased along with the mix itself.

Another reason I feel that the tub of powder is better to buy than the ready to drink bottles is that per drink you are getting less saturated fat. In a ready to drink bottle there is 1.5 grams of saturated fat where as the mix gives 0.4 grams. There is however a slight difference in calories in that a ready made up bottle give 220 calories but the mix made up with the skimmed milk gives 230.

of course for when you are out and about the ready to drink bottles are far easier to deal with as taking skimmed milk and powder about can be no mean feat and the mix cannot really be made up and used later on as it must be drank as soon as it is mixed up. I have been able to take the mix and the milk into work but the milk goes into the fridge and the measured out powder is stored in a little tub I have.

Making up a mix of the Slimfast is very easy and you only need to measure out 250ml of of cold skimmed milk and then add two level scoops of the powder into it and shake for around 20 seconds or so until the powder has all mixed in. The scoop is provided within each tub so you know exactly the right amount to use all the time.

The powder does seem to dissolve pretty quickly and there isn't ever a powdery taste to the shake. I have to say that at first I thought I wasn't going to like the Slimfast seeing as I am a big regular milkshake fan. However the taste of the Vanilla one was very satisfying and I couldn't get over how thick and tasty they actually were. There is no nasty after taste like there was when I was drinking the Optislim shakes as these would often leave a rather chemical taste in the mouth and would repeat on me for a good few hours after drinking. The slimfast vanilla has such a nice strong vanilla taste to it that it tastes like any regular milkshake.

They are thick and creamy like I said before and they do actually fill me up quite a good deal. I have been having one for breakfast and then one for lunch followed by a sensible dinner of up to 600 calories in the evening. This is what is recommended on the side of the tub and this is what I have been doing. So far I have lost 1 stone and I hope to loose a further couple of pound every week till I am down to a size 8!

I have to say that I really like the flavour of these shakes and indeed the shake as a whole. They are very cheap when you think of the amount you spend on food for breakfast and lunches and so actually saving me money as well as helping me to loose the weight. I would say that running has been helping me a lot but these shakes are so easy to do and really do fill me up to the point where I am not even interested in snacking. I think where I know that all I have is a shake I can deal with my hunger a lot better. I am the sort of person that wants to eat and eat and eat and when I start I find it hard to stop. However if I know I have a shake and nothing else then my brian seems to deal with this and not crave more and more and more!

I have to award this Slimfast Vanilla a top score of 5 out of 5 stars and a very high recommendation. The taste is good, the price is good and the results.....well they speak for themselves! I am so happy with Slimfast!

Highly recommended.

I do hope that this has been of some help/interest to you.

many thanks for taking the time to read.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A good way to jump start your diet - but don't forget to exercise, too!

I finally faced the fact that my weight had started creeping up on me when it came down to the choice between buying a whole new wardrobe or dieting, as I could barely fit into any of my clothes. I chose the dieting option, and went shopping looking for products to help me in my quest to lose weight.

Slimfast is the product that I would say has helped me the most. I've tried all the different flavours over the 2-3 months that I've been using them, and I find the vanilla to be the only one that I never tire of. The banana and chocolate ones were fine at first but soon became too sickly, and the strawberry was just far too sickly from the start, but the vanilla I find I can drink over and over again and it's just fine.

The powders are the more economical option. A large tub costs about £8-9 and makes around 12 servings, whereas the single servings are usually about £1.29, so even when you add in the cost of the milk you are way ahead.

I also prefer the powders for the simple reason that I make them up in the morning a plain plastic bottle and take them into work that way. I would find it a bit embarassing to take the bright red single serving slimfast shakes into work, as I don't necessarily want comments from colleagues on the progress of my diet!

I make my shakes with soy milk but you could use skim milk of course instead. There are a couple of ways you can mix them up. Either you can mix them with an electric whisk or you can put the powder and milk into a shaker or bottle, put the cap on tightly and shake for a minute or two. I usually use the second method, and I use a funnel to get the powder into a bottle with a slim neck, although you can sometimes find shakers from slimfast specifically designed for this purpose.

The taste of the shakes is ok. At first I loved them but now, 2-3 months on, I would say that I tolerate them. They are quite thick and creamy and not too sweet. I usually have a piece of fruit with them as well - I particularly like them with clementines as the sweet and sour tastes blen well together. Bananas are nice too!

I have a slimfast either for breakfast or for lunch now (although in the beginning of my diet I had two a day, one for each of these meals). I have lost 15 pounds and only have 5 more to go, so wish me luck, and best of luck to you in your diet too!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A tasty milk drink!

As I am trying to lose weight at the moment I am trying to vary and change my shopping habits to find meals and snacks that are satisfying and that will aid with my weightloss. Whilst in Sainsburys yesterday I found their small selection of Slimfast products, slimfast says it all really doesn't it - Slimfast produce many products that are dietary aids and are meant to be eaten as part of a healthy diet along with exercise to help with weightloss.

Browsing their products I spotted their shakes, now you can either by the tubs of powders as pictured above, to make your own shakes or you can buy a ready made shake which are probably better if you are on the go and don't have time to make a meal.

Now my review is actually about the ready made shake - but I have bought the tub of powder as well and the taste and shake tastes, looks and smells exactly the same.

The ready made shakes come in a 325ml plastic bottle with a screw off lid. Underneath the lid is the peel off foil that is there to secure the shake inside the bottle and maintains it's freshness too. The bottle is decorated in the usual Slimfast colour theme being a reddy pink and the bottom of the bottle shows a cream coloured shake being poured. Slim Fast is proudly boasted at the top of the bottle. It clearly states on the bottle that this bottle of shake is a meal, it is nutritionally balanced, it's 'simply vanilla flavoured' AND it contains 212 calories. It does tell you to shake the bottle well too, but I tend to do that anyway with my milk drinks out of habit.

One of these ready made shakes contains;212 calories24.1g sugars6.5g fat1.6g saturates

There is a small paragraph on the back of the bottle which tells us what Slim fast believes in. Slim Fast believe that losing weight should be a pleasure, you should be able to enjoy a variety of foods that are delicious as well as nutritionally balanced because if you are happy with what you are eating its easier to stay motivated and success will follow.

The shake itself is a dark cream in colour and rather frothy at the top. The vanilla scent hits you instantly and it's extremely enticing. It's thicker than most milk drinks you can buy and has a thicker consistency than milk. It tastes strongly of vanilla and as you can imagine is quite sweet too but it's not too strong and surprisingly not sickly either. I find one of these shakes quite filling too, which I'm sure is the idea behind them. They are not quite as fulfilling or satisfying as actually eating a meal but it definitely worked as a stop gap between meals and prevented me from snacking on crap. It is a very tasty drink and I do need to drink it quite slowly otherwise it bloats me and fills me up too quick.

I always buy these now if I know I'm going to be out and about most of the day, by drinking these I'm drinking something tasty and enjoyable as well as filling myself up and stopping myself from snacking on junk throughout the day. They make a quick and convenient meal substitute.

The tins of powder are of course best used at home and again they result in the same flavoursome shake, leaving no thick residue at the bottom of the glass and they have the same smooth consistency too, no added lumps or extras thankfully.

You can buy both the tins and the shakes in other flavours but to be honest I find them rancid and fake, the vanilla however I find very tasty and tastes exactly as it says on the bottle 'simply vanilla'. The shakes cost around £1.27 individually but you can also buy them in multipacks for nearly £7 for 6. The tins however cost roughly £4.99 in Sainsburys at the moment and that one tin can provide 12 meals!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Great for non-breakfasters who need to take morning medications.

I use Slim Fast's Milkshakes every day mainly for medicinal reasons. I have IBS along with other medical issues and as such I need to take 9 tablets each morning. As someone who has never eaten breakfast for the first 40 odd years of life I find I now need to line my stomach before taking the medication in order not to suffer further gastric problems in the day.I buy mainly the french Vanilla flavour as I find it not too overpowering but giving a lovely hint of vanilla. I use a tall plastic beaker - similar in size/shape to the kind sold to store fruit juice in the fridge - with the must-have item, an electric handheld blender. Adding the dry shake powder to the milk then put the blender in the container and gently rise and fall and you will find that the volume increases by about 50%. It makes the shakes really really light and frothy. Its like the difference between having a bath and having a bath with bubblebath in it!Sadly Im not using it for the weight loss side (although I do need to!) I am only using this as a means to aid digestion of medication without adding more gastric problems.I stock-piled several tins of this as it has a long shelf life when it was priced at £3.61 at Tesco's. They do tend to have this on offer every now and then so I try to buy enough to fill the gaps!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

a good meal replacement milkshake

I don't need to lose a lot of weight but realise than I've not really been eating very healthily the past few months so I bought a tub of Slim Fast Vanilla Powder to 'kick-start' my healthy eating plan.

My eldest daughter now has her first job after graduating & has moved away, the younger one is at college & has a very hectic lifestyle & hubby works 18 hours a day so I really can't be bothered to cook when I'm on my own.

I have a very busy working week & just 'feed my face' in the evening when watching TV - not a good idea!

I read about Slim Fast in a magazine & decided to give it a try as it was on offer at Superdrug for £6.99 & provides 12 meal replacements - so not too expensive.

The idea is that you replace 2 meals with a glass of Slim Fast milkshake, then have a 'proper' meal ( there's a plan on www.slimfast.co.uk) & you can have up to 3 snacks between meals.It's great idea if you have a busy lifestyle & saves counting calories & preparing food, but it may not suit everyone.

It comes in a metal tub with a plastic lid & foil seal which keeps the product fresh.

A scoop is provided for measuring & all you do is add milk, mix & drink.

The vanilla one mixes well, has a nice consistency & takes of vanilla - not too strong but flavoursome.I didn't find that there were any lumps in the milkshake & no residue was left at the bottom of the glass.

I felt quite full afterwards and, although you don't get the satisfaction of eating a meal, they kept me going quite happily until my 'proper' meal in the evening.

A list of all the ingredients, directions & storage are clearly marked on the tub & the website (address above) is well worth a visit for recipes, ideas & users' opinions.

summary~- if you are a busy person who doesn't have time to prepare healthy meals 3 times a day then this may be of help.- could get boring pretty soon if you stick to one flavour.- nice taste.- mixes well with skimmed milk.- good consistency.- recommended - but won't suit everyone?!